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Saturday, December 10

Surprise! 50,000 Civilians Evacuated In Past Two Days From E. Aleppo (UPDATED 7:45am EST)

UPDATE

Here is a report from Sputnik on the evacuation; RT has also updated its Breaking News report on the evacuation and mentions, "The Russian Reconciliation Center is monitoring the evacuation of civilians from the blocked districts round-the-clock with the use of drones."

Both websites have video showing overhead surveillance of the evacuation. RT has 'live' raw drone footage in black and white; Sputnik has a short clip, also posted at YouTube, which is in color and more easily than the drone footage conveys the exodus along one of the 'humanitarian corridors' from east to west Aleppo.
  
Below is the the Sputnik report, which repeats much of the information in the updated RT one. Note the Sputnik photo; people don't seem to be carrying anything as they wait to board a bus. I assume this is because they've been told by the Syrian/Russian commands that the evacuation is very short- term. Also, the evacuation looks reasonably orderly and everyone shown at the transportation staging looks pretty calm. 



Russia Has Evacuated 50,000 Civilians From Aleppo in Past Two Days
13:48 - 10.12.2016 (updated 14:20 - 10.12.2016)
Sputnik

Russia's center for Syrian reconciliation has helped nearly 50,000 civilians leave Eastern Aleppo in the past two days, the Defense Ministry's spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday.

While the total number of civilians evacuated from Eastern Aleppo over the past two days stands at almost 50,000, Saturday alone has seen over 20,000 individuals leaving the city, he said.

"On Saturday, over 20,000 people have left Eastern Aleppo, and 1,217 militants have laid down their arms."

The evacuation is being conducted through humanitarian corridors, organized by Moscow and Damascus. 


"We are warning terrorists and so-called moderate opposition militants, and we are addressing their patrons, to not provoke the situation, to not open fire on civilians leaving though the humanitarian corridors," Konashenkov said. 

The spokesman appealed to those countries and organizations which vowed to provide humanitarian aid for Aleppo. 

"We are appealing to those who have been for months announcing their readiness to send humanitarian aid to Aleppo: the representatives of the United States, Britain, France, Canada, the European Union and international organizations… It's time to back up your promises." 

Konashenkov said earlier on Saturday there was a "continuous flow" of people fleeing the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo to that controlled by the government.

The Syrian Army on Saturday suspended its offensive against the militants in Aleppo for the time of the evacuation of civilians from the eastern neighborhoods of the city through humanitarian corridors launched by the Russian Reconciliation Center. The Syrian government has regained control of 93 percent of the city.

Aleppo has become the battleground for violent clashes between the government forces and opposition groups, with the latter holding on to a number of districts in the east of the city. The siege of Aleppo has resulted in many of its civilian residents lacking food and basic necessities, their lives threatened.

[END REPORT]

END UPDATE

I'll be darned. The Russian military sure has a quiet way of working -- but maybe they were able to pull it off in part because of crummy reporting on the conflict. Anyhow, this explains the seeming foot dragging in the past few days by Syrian and Russian commanders about re-escalating attacks in the area, and which had the guys at SouthFront tearing out their hair.   

BREAKING NEWS
December 10, 2016 - 10:47
RT

Russian Reconciliation Center evacuated 50,000 civilians from E. Aleppo in past 2 days – military

Over the past 48 hours, up to 50,000 people have been evacuated from East Aleppo, Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov has reported.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW


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